Today is the reveal for the quilt generated from the "Maps" prompt. I call my quilt "Full Circle." Here's my finished quilt.
I've adjusted the brightness and contrast a little to make the thread drawings visible. It requires some explanation, and I've written a rather lengthy quilt tour with stories and pictures on my personal blog. For this post, I've cut the "fluff." If you want to read more about it, please click here for more.
The prompt had me going off in all directions. I considered road maps, star maps, weather maps, and more. In my online wandering, I came across a term I'd not heard before: "Mind mapping." You can click on that link for more information, but in a nutshell...
"Mind maps provide a structured way to capture and organize ideas and information. They help users to understand concepts by breaking them down into their component parts. The technique is used to develop new ideas, or to break down and better understand existing information. Mind mapping is a powerful technique to help you visually develop and organize ideas and information."
Here is an example in visual form:
With this idea in mind, I remembered a certain fabric in my stash...this one:I was reminded of a theme central to my self-identify: that of being a Marine Corps brat. From that starting place, the ideas flowed, and I got very excited about making this quilt.
It was an easy concept: Put the Marine Corps fabric in the quilt's center, and then surround it with blocks from the states where I'd lived while growing up. Taking the idea further, I decided to quilt it with "thread drawings" of some of my unique personal memories of each place.
The center block is the starting point of this mind-mapping exercise. I added three borders to bring it to the size I wanted.
Starting at the top and moving clockwise, the first state represented is my home state of California. The quilt block is called "Road to California." The horse and barn fabric you see there was purchased at a quilt shop in Sonora, California. It was quilted with a simple dot-to-dot motif.
From California, we headed to Albuquerque, New Mexico. This is the state quilt block for New Mexico. The petroglyph fabric you see was purchased at a quilt shop in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
From Albuquerque, we traveled all the way to the Atlantic coast for our next home at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, North Carolina. This is North Carolina's state block:
My memories of North Carolina are these: Behind our house there was some kind of drainage ditch. There, we could catch polliwogs (or tadpoles, if you like). We'd keep them in mason jars or large bowls until they sprouted legs and turned into tiny frogs, no larger than a kidney bean. (Occasionally, they got loose in the house.) Also, we survived a bad hurricane, Hurricane Donna, in 1960. I'm a born cat lover, and it was the first time I was given a kitten. Here are my thread drawings for North Carolina memories.
After North Carolina, my dad's next post was at The Pentagon, in Washington, D.C. For that, we packed up and moved to Groveton, Virginia. Here is Virginia's state block, the Virginia Reel.
The ladybug fabric was purchased at a quilt shop in Harrisonburg, Virginia. It was a banner year for ladybugs that year and we had a small infestation in our RV at the time.
From Virginia, we drove back across country to San Francisco and the Pacific Ocean, where we boarded a military ship (the USS Patrick) and crossed under the Golden Gate Bridge on our way to my dad's next duty station at Marine Corps Air Station in Kaneohe Bay, Oahu, Hawaii.
While Hawaii has a state block, I liked this "Pineapple Star" better. I quilted it with plumeria in the corners. I don't have any fabric purchased in Hawaii, so I let the palm trees do the heavy lifting for this block.
I graduated from the same high school where I met my husband. We exchanged marriage vows, and then moved to Arizona shortly thereafter, bringing my life as a military brat to a close. My quilt was finished with some simple stippling around the open areas where the thread drawings are. I used the same "tire track" motif in the outer border.
Putting it all in context, here is my finished mind-mapped quilt:
Here's how it looks from the back:
It's a little too large to qualify as an "art” quilt. At 48 x 48 inches, it's more lap-sized than wall-sized. I had so much fun making it. I hope you like my quilt.
Fascinating quilt Barbara, you have managed to capture so many memories and in such a variety of ways I love it!
ReplyDeleteNo wonder you were excited to share this, Barbara! What a great way to capture your life as a military brat - all the moving, but all the memories, too! Well done!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Wendy. I love that feeling when an idea sparks creativity and…let’s face it…courage to try something new.
DeleteThis is amazing! I love that you researched all the state blocks, and were able to use fabrics purchased in each one! Although obviously you need to get back to Hawaii just to purchase some fabric there. :)
ReplyDeleteAnd I love all the stitched memories too. There are so many layers of interest in this piece!
Thank you! I had so much fun making it. You’re right, I do need to get back to Hawaii. I didn’t learn to quilt until 2008. I’ve been back to Hawaii as an adult, but not as a quilter.
DeleteWow that is just fabulous. I love the quilting for each place and idea of quilt blocks for each state is really fun. It will be such a great piece to look closer and something for the family to treasure.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Ruth.
DeleteInteresting story. i love the quilt.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Debbi.
DeleteI love the way this quilt maps your childhood with all the location related blocks, fabrics and thread paintings. It is a memoir in fabric and I'm sure will become an heirloom in your family. I also enjoyed learning so many new things from your post. I hadn't realised every state had a quilt block and from now on I shall be saying 'polliwogs' :)
ReplyDeleteThank you, Janine. I don't know if every state has a quilt block, but I think most do.
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